Police have arrested a woman alleged to have burnt a tenant’s house in Kakamega, western Kenya, following a disagreement over rent payment.
A report by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) states that Caroline Mukolwe, the property owner, had approached the tenant last evening demanding house rent amounting to Sh800 ($8).
However, the tenant, 40-year-old Teresia Ayeng, could not raise the total amount at the moment. Instead, she offered the landlady Sh400 ($4), pledging to clear the balance in a few days.
But the seemingly impatient landlady, who would hear none of her pleas for more time to raise the rest of the money, rushed back to her house and came back running, holding a bottle full of kerosene and a matchbox.
She entered the tenant’s house, doused her bedding and clothing with the kerosene, and set it ablaze, reducing the poor woman’s belongings to ashes.
“As Ayeng tearfully watched all her earthly possessions valued at Sh47,000 ($470) go up in flames, the landlady triumphantly paced up and down the scene of the fire in jubilation,” said DCI.
The landlady is behind held in police custody, awaiting arraignment.
